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Talks must continue Selling PSUs |
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Pressure tactics only
The great security divide
An expert for all seasons
Steam engines to attract tourists DELHI DURBAR
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Talks must continue IT is unfortunate that the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has threatened to pull out of the talks with the Centre. At this juncture, one can only hope that it will not take the threat to its logical conclusion. The nation has been pinning a lot of expectation on the talks to resolve one of the major problems facing the country. The first round of talks was held in a cordial atmosphere and it showed that with a give-and-take attitude, it would be possible to reach an agreement that will ensure lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Both sides showed considerable statesmanship in taking full advantage of the dialogue to remove the misunderstandings they had about each other. The media also took positive note of the talks which helped crystallise opinion in world capitals. If anything, this showed the importance of the talks. What have angered the APHC are some human rights violations by the security forces. Any such violation is a matter of grave concern as has been underscored by Minister of State for Home I.D. Swami. Because of the heavy pressure on the security forces, sometimes they are unable to measure up to the exacting standards that have been set for them. But these are, more often than not, individual aberrations. Take the case of the recent Bandipore incident where the Army is alleged to have used five villagers as "human shields". Only an impartial inquiry, which hopefully is already on, will reveal the truth of the allegation. But what is noteworthy is that the Army has already ordered corrective steps. The Army Chief, who visited the state immediately after the incident, has clarified that the Army would no longer engage local porters as it would have its own contingent of porters. Even on the latest alleged custodial killing of a civilian in Pulwama district, the government has taken a serious view as can be gauged from the fact that it has summoned the Corps Commander to New Delhi to get a clear picture of the ground situation. All this shows that the government takes a dim view of human rights violations, which the Hurriyat Conference should have taken note of before threatening to call off the talks. The APHC should realise that once the talks lead to enduring peace in the state, there will be no deployment of security forces, save to keep vigil on the border. That should be the ultimate aim of the talks. |
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Selling PSUs DISINVESTMENT Minister Arun Shourie is disappointed that the BSE Sensex is not behaving the way it suits the government. Without revealing any facts, the minister has seen a conspiracy in the recent fall in the share prices of the PSUs, which are in the process of making initial public offerings (IPOs). Newspaper reports have quoted him as alleging that certain merchant bankers, along with some corporate houses, have joined hands to bring down the PSU prices so that they can buy these cheap through the IPOs. Given the functioning of the Indian stock markets, such allegations may be quite true. The minister forgets that he is part of the government whose responsibility it is to check the malpractices and violations of the rules, if any. Mr Shourie does not sound very convincing when he says that all this is being done to “sabotage” the government’s disinvestment programme and “take the sheen off its India Shining campaign”. It is a clear case of over-reaction without concrete action. It is quite likely that the merchant bankers, corporate houses and FIIs are pressing sales in the shares of PSUs to raise money for the series of IPOs coming up one after another. The PSU prices had risen very sharply in the recent days and some of the players might be just booking profits. Instead of being in a hurry to raise money before the end of the current financial year, the government could have spread out the PSU issues. Any way, if there is any shady activity, the market regulator, SEBI, is fully equipped to deal with it. The fortunes of a party like the BJP should not depend on the mood of the stock market, which is notorious for its unpredictable behaviour. Mr Shourie will have the support of the people if he protects the interests of the PSUs against the vagaries of the market and manipulation by those who thrive on public money. Is he feeling helpless these days in carrying out his duties? |
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Pressure tactics only THE bank and insurance employees, who went on strike on Tuesday, are yet to come to terms with the changed reality. They believe there is nothing wrong with the workers having the right to strike and that they can still force the government to get their pay scales revised. Times have changed. Today employment itself is a privilege. Job insecurity is increasing. The customer is becoming very demanding. Organisations are forced to perform to stay in circulation and to generate profit and employment. The present situation is the result of non-performance of the public sector in the past. The private sector was kept in chains. Today both are compelled to show results and the employees are feeling the heat. In the post-liberalisation scenario, the workers’ representatives have a new role to play. To safeguard the employees’ interests and ensure their post-retirement social security, they should play the role of the watchdog so that their institution is not hijacked by vested interests. They should not, in fact, they cannot afford to, undermine the smooth functioning of their institutions. Those in the service sector, like the bank and insurance employees, should realise that their bread and butter depend on the customer. If he is dissatisfied, he would shift to better performers. For too long, the customer has been taken for granted and treated indifferently. It is because of the uncaring attitude that the employees today have lost public sympathy. As far as the economic reforms are concerned, a rollback is unlikely. There is a broad political consensus on the policies being pursued, first by the Congress and now by the BJP. If one looks beyond the boundaries, the employees in the West have been better looked-after than those in the once socialist countries. Yesterday’s communists like China and Russia have turned “market socialists” today, and there seem to be no regrets. The real challenge is to make the reforms bring benefits for all sections of society. Thought for the day Opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making.
— John Milton |
The great security divide THREE main issues were discussed at the 40th Munich Conference of Security Policy held on February 6-8: prospects of trans-Atlantic relations, the future of NATO, and likely developments in West Asia. As usual, several Defence and Foreign Ministers, representatives of think-tanks, the academia, the media and the defence industry attended the conference. India has been participating in the conference ever since this formerly exclusive European get-together was “globalised” in 1999. A first-time participant this year was Pakistan, with its delegation headed by Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri. After last year’s conference, when the prospects of war in Iraq had seen sharp differences of opinion between the US and European nations like Germany, France and Russia, there was a noticeable attempt to show trans-Atlantic solidarity. Confabulations within NATO in this last year, particularly the “Mediterranean Dialogue” on the prospects of engagement and cooperation in North Africa and West Asia appeared to have softened the edges a bit. Still, an “Atlantic divide” continues to exist between the US and major European nations over several politico-military issues. The Americans would like to see greater NATO/European participation in Iraq immediately, and sharing of their vision and methodology in West Asia. Germany and France are not only unwilling on military participation but also differ on the approach to the realisation of a moderate, democratic West Asian vision. The Russians are uncomfortable with the eastward expansion of NATO and the state of Russia-NATO cooperation. The German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs initiated the debate on a positive note by stating that “regardless of our opinion of the war (in Iraq), we have to win peace together because otherwise we will lose together”. But thereafter he made three important points of difference with the Americans. (a) The United Nations must take on the key role in transferring sovereignty and supporting democratic reconstruction, for only that can guarantee the legitimacy of the process. The (b) NATO decision on direct involvement in Iraq needs to be considered very carefully. Germany will go along with the consensus but will not deploy its troops in Iraq. The (c) crisis in Iraq will not be solved without a sustainable long-term reform process in the whole of that region. West Asia, he said, is “at the epicentre of the greatest threat to our regional and global security: there is destructive jehadi terrorism with its totalitarian ideology”, and we find a profound modernisation crisis in many parts of the Arab world. This totalitarian threat cannot be countered by military means of the West alone. It requires much broad-based actions and genuine cooperation to work together with the states and societies of the region. A common strategy, and not a toolbox approach, is required. The European Union (EU) and the US should poll their capabilities, assets and projects to form a new trans-Atlantic initiative — Joint EU/NATO Mediterranean Process — to tackle the challenges of modernisation, democratisation and stabilisation in West Asia. The focus of this initiative will be on security and politics, economy, law and culture, and civil society. His address conveyed the impression that Germany will accept a political and reconstruction role in the area but says no to a military role. The Russian Defence Minister rejected unilateral use of force without the relevant UN Security Council mandate. It is wrong, he said, to fight terrorism outside the international law or with illegal techniques. The territory of Iraq has now turned into a real magnet for terrorists from the whole region. He described the Russia-NATO cooperation as “not at all rosy”, and strongly objected to the creation of new NATO military facilities in Poland and the Baltic area. He expressed deep concern over nuclear safety “after what had happened in Pakistan” and said that his country would support efforts to bring Pakistan into the fold of non-proliferation arrangements. The British Secretary of State warned that polarisation of US-EU relations could feed misunderstanding and encourage isolationist tendencies on both sides of the Atlantic. The regions immediately adjacent to Europe have the most significant bearing on Western security interests. Potentially destabilising social, political and economic problems demand that the West engage them in conflict prevention as well as respond rapidly to an emerging crisis. The UK is highly unlikely to be engaged in high intensity large-scale operations without the US. While NATO will remain the cornerstone of collective defence and crisis management, the EU, through a common foreign and security policy supported by the European Security and Defence Policy, will provide a complementary organisation for action where NATO as a whole is not engaged. He recommended that trans-Atlantic relationship must evolve beyond the parochial and face up to new challenges and opportunities like addressing West Asia, finding a new role for Russia, establishing confidence with China as it emerges into a great power status, and recognise India as an emerging and significant player. His message was: the UK will continue with its close relations with the US and that Europe should contribute more effective military capabilities for the trans-Atlantic alliance. The US Secretary of Defence, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, a bit theatrically and sometimes sarcastically, justified the war in Iraq. He said that this action had resulted in two models of behaviour by the world’s rogue regimes — the path of cooperation (Libya) and the path of defiance (Iraq). He warned that the pursuit of weapons of mass murder would henceforth carry costs. He spoke about the new “Proliferation Security Initiative” under which the US and its allies would interdict shipments of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), delivery systems and related materials at sea, in the air, and on the ground. He projected the need for multilateral cooperation, strengthening alliances and the usability of alliance capabilities. As expected, Secretary Rumsfeld lauded the role played by NATO in the last one year and called for strengthening its Mediterranean Dialogue with new areas of potential cooperation. What came across during the conference was that the hardcore EU nations and Russia would prefer multilateralism to unilateralism. They desire stability, democratisation and modernisation in Iraq and the rest of West Asia, and a bigger political and reconstruction role for themselves, directly or through the UN. They are not willing to commit their military under the US in Iraq. Last week, France too declared that it would not send troops to Iraq till a legitimate transfer of sovereignty took place. The EU has little military muscle of its own, or as part of NATO. It has been reluctant and slow in improving its military capabilities. It, therefore, remains dependent on US-dominated politico-military decisions in NATO, which is preparing to play a bigger military role than the UN peace-keepers in North Africa, West Asia and Central Asia. In the enlarged NATO — seven more members are to join this year — the US influence is likely increase further. The European military contingents in Afghanistan, due to the lack of adequate strength and experience, are already facing difficulties in supporting the Karzai government to govern the country effectively and to hold country-wide elections in time. A great deal of work and investment is, therefore, essential to enable NATO forces to take on the envisaged role in West
Asia. The writer is a former Chief of Army Staff |
An expert for all seasons YOU cannot avoid him. You will run into him in serpentine queues in front of the fair price shop. In dust-laden government offices. In smoke-filled coffee houses. You name the place. He will be there. He is the all-knowing, arm-chair Cricket Expert who can be an even greater bore than Geoff Boycott offering a dead defensive bat to a short-pitched delivery coming waist-high. The test season will find the Cricket Expert in full and facile flow and no aspect of the game will escape his astringent and acerbic tongue. Armed with an impressive battery of statistics and an impeccable recall of the 1929-30 season when Larwood and Johnston were bowling at their fiery fastest, he will proceed to make a devastating dissection of the merits and de-merits of the two opposing teams and none dare challenge lightly his authoritative pronouncements on the state of the pitch (use of the medium roller will result in the pitch at the pavillion end to crumble during the post-tea session on the 4th day and assist unorthodox left-arm leg spinners to send down googlies and disguised as a Chinaman) or the condition of the outfield (“heavy, overcast skies will cause extra cover drives played off the back foot to slow down”). Never mind that the nearest to practical cricket that the Cricket Expert has been to was when a few urchins playing the game in a bylane had hollered at him to throw them back their rubber ball that had run on to the main road. The Cricket Expert is a plague-like infliction on his near and dear relatives (or “survivors” if you prefer) and television has come like a godsend to him. A full half an hour before the game is due to start, he will hog the screen, pulling his chair a mere 2 feet from the set disregarding the manufacturers’ recommendation that the ideal viewing distance is 20 times the screen size. As the game gets underway, he will squint and peer intently at the screen with his short-sighted eyes to see if the field placement is up to his exacting standards. He will shake his head censoriously and growl dangerously, “No, no, that won’t do at all. Denis Compton would never have set a defensive field like that when the visitors have taken the light roller. The deep third man ought to be squarer ready to take a skier, silly point moved to gully and third slip removed in favour of a widish forward short-leg.” He will continue his intent scrutiny for that tell-tale patch at the far end that would prove to be batsmen’s Waterloo during the 20 mandatory overs on the fifth and final day. Disregarding anguished pleas by his friends and relatives that they would rather listen to the official commentary, the Cricket Expert will proceed to provide a non-stop “critique” of the game from the start of the day’s play till the draw of stumps. Munching on home-made pop corn, the ‘desi’ Nevillee Cardus will gratuitously throw in priceless asides for the scholarly edification of his trapped audience. “Remind me to tell you about the incident when Keith Miller bowled a vicious bouncer at Len Hutton and Hutton forgot to duck” or he will hold forth with a masterly
extemporaneous soliloquy on the technical intricacies of ICC’s new front foot rule. Only a late outswinger pitched just outside the offstump and turning sharply to rap on the front pad just as he is shaping for a delectable cover drive off the front foot can get the Cricket Expert
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Steam engines to attract tourists TRYING to resurrect the romance of steam rail, the Railways proposes to revive steam engines on several rail lines, besides developing the steam centre at Rewari in Haryana into a Centre for Excellence for Steam Locomotives. This recommendation was made during the Second National Conference on Steam Locomotives held at Delhi on February 14 and 15. It was suggested that this steam centre be made into a world class centre, with at least 12 working steam locomotives of all four gauges – broad gauge, narrow gauge, 2’6” gauge and 2’ gauge. It is also proposed that the centre should have a proper exhibition room, training facilities, archives, a lounge with cafeteria for visitors, a store room and a drawing office. This centre was inaugurated in December, 2002, and has been picking up steam since then. With five engines in steam (four broad gauge and one meter gauge), besides a steam crane and the first miniature steam locomotive, which was manufactured by the Amritsar workshop recently, it is set to emerge as a global competence centre for preservations and maintenance of steam locomotives. It is also proposed to set up two more steam centres — one in the southern region at Madurai and another in the eastern
region at Bankura. The delegates at the conference, including top level officials of the Ministries of Railways and Tourism, an international steam expert from the UK, Mr Rob Dickinson, heritage activists from the United Kingdom and India, representatives from the Indian Steam Railway Society etc. had all gathered to deliberate over the future of steam locomotives in the country so that a large number of foreign tourists can be attracted. It was decided that the country should fully exploit the niche Steam Heritage Tourism segment, with cooperation and support of the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. With many European countries generating economic activity by reviving the steam heritage, India, with its large rail network and steam locomotives, too, can earn revenue and foreign exchange by reviving steam locomotives in a big way. Mr Ashwani Lohani, Nodal Officer for Steam Locomotives in the country and founder member of the Indian Steam Railway Society, says that launching 15-20 steam-hauled time-tabled services carries the potential to attract almost one lakh foreign tourists annually, and has the capacity to yield seven times revenue of the total cost of investment in reviving these locomotives of the by-gone era. Even now the steam engines are not restricted to once-in-a-while ceremonial feature, and are getting back on track as a regular service. The Fairy Queen from Delhi to Alwar also does its 150 km journey on steam. The Eastern Railway has started a weekly tour from Howrah to Bandel — an erstwhile Portuguese settlement on the banks of the Hooghly. A steam train between Delhi and Farrukhnagar is being started in April. The Northern Central Railway is all set to bring back the nostalgia of steam engines between Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. The lake city of Udaipur will also be connected to Chittorgarh over the tracks of the erstwhile Mewar State Railway. Besides, there are just a few other occasional steam services in the country. Rail heritage experts say that 165 of the total 340 steam locomotives can be restored to working condition. It is also proposed that luxury trains like the Palace on Wheels, Royal Orient and Deccan Odyssey be run on steam for the first part of the journey to add to their heritage appeal. While the first two trains are proposed to have a 75 km steam run from Delhi to Rewari, the Deccan Odyssey will be steam hauled for about 40- 50 km. Mr Lohani says that as of now all five hill railways — Neelgiri Mountain Railway, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Kalka-Shimla rail line, Matheran and Kangra Valley Railways — are running on steam. “The 60 km run on the Neelgiri segment is covered entirely on steam, the Darjeeling Rail run is partly on steam. A chartered steam engine service is available on the Kalka-Shimla line, between Shimla and Katleeghat, while the Matheran and Kangra Valley rail each has a steam engine, though this service has not yet been packaged for tourists. We now propose to convert all these five lines completely on steam,” he adds. Regular steam locomotive exchange programmes are
proposed to be organised between Indian Railways and foreign organisations like Festiniog Railways and Leighton Buzzard Railway of the UK. An advisory committee on steam locomotives to be set up by the Railway Board will coordinate in reviving the “steam movement” in the country. Members of the Indian Steam Railway Society and from the tourism sector will be members of this committee. The Indian Steam Railway Society also proposes to set up three regional centres at Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. |
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DELHI DURBAR THIS is one bit of data-bashing exercise the NDA poll managers would like to crack. The impact of the feel-good factor and the India Shining campaign, as many political observers have projected, may not transcend much beyond the geographical limits of the urban metropolises. The real worry then for the NDA will be to look at ways and means to improve its tally in these areas itself, where the current statistics do not offer much scope. According to some estimates, the NDA had garnered a staggering 77 per cent of the seats in the urban constituencies and empirical evidence of the past elections suggests that the figure could only go down. For instance, in 1999 in Delhi, the BJP made a clean sweep of seven seats. Likewise, in Mumbai, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine won five of the six seats and even the neighbouring Thane seat was also won by the Shiv Sena.
Cracks widen in AP Congress Even as Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s image makeover continues, the party finds itself in a delicate situation in Andhra Pradesh in the run-up to the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the southern state. Even as some Telugu Desam leaders have walked over to the Congress, the former seems to be enjoying a definite edge. The widening cracks in the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee came to the fore with former minister M.V. Mysoora Reddy along with two others, considered to be strong in the Rayalaseema region, joining the TDP. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP supremo Nara Chandrababu Naidu welcomed them and commended Mysoora Reddy’s long career of public service.
Sidhu impact on voters Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh apparently does not believe much in the electoral sway of movie and cricket stars. Capt Amarinder Singh, whose party has to take on Vinod Khanna in Gurdaspur, was not amused by cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu joining the BJP. Acknowledging that Sidhu was famous for his wisecracks, the Chief Minister, however, said that those in politics were judged by the contribution they make to public life. Punjab’s electoral scene promises to be colourful even if Dara Singh and Dharmendra seem no longer to be prospective candidates for major parties. In the assembly poll held two years back, it was the Congress, which benefited from convassing by Govinda and Preity Zinta.
Healthcare for
neighbours The prospects of improved ties between India and Pakistan can do a lot of good to newborns and adults across the border who are looking for world-class treatment in this country. An eight-month-old from Karachi is the first to benefit from the skilled fingers of an Indian surgeon at the Escorts Heart Institute. A 14-member delegation of Pakistani doctors were overjoyed to meet the child during their visit to Escorts on Tuesday. The boy, suffering from Scimitar Syndrome, a very rare congenital heart problem, underwent a major surgery last week and is reporting satisfactory progress. After travel restrictions were lifted, inquiries for medication from anxious parents and patient inflow from the neighbouring country has increased. India is emerging as the most preferred healthcare destination as the cost of treatment is low. Contributed by Satish Misra, Gaurav Choudhury, Prashant Sood and Tripti Nath |
The Supreme is not a God who sleeps in serene abstraction while hearts heave laden cry out for help, but a saving God of love believed and experienced as such by the devotee. He bestows salvation on those who believe in Him. — Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in The Bhagavad Gita The Divine revelation through Nature has a deep meaning, as the whole course of events in Nature gets a deeper meaning as reflecting the Divine will. — Shri Adi Shankaracharya By hearing the word Men conquer fear of death and the elements. — Guru Nanak Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires. —
Lao-Tzu Ahimsa is one of the world’s greatest principles which no power on earth can wipe out. — Mahatma Gandhi |
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